Trials of a Victor
by ilovecheesee
Summary: THG from Clove's POV Clove is sure that she'll be the victor of the 74th Hunger Games, but when she falls in love with her opponent, she's not sure if she wants to win and live without him. But will either of them survive?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: hehe new fic :3 will be updated every Saturday! :) reviews please? xx**

"Clove! Clove! You have to wake up, it's Reaping day today." My mother tries to get me to wake up. I'm not an early riser- all I do everyday is training and that only starts at 2 in the afternoon. But today isn't a normal day, it's the day of the Reaping.

District 2 is like, the second district, duh, so our Reaping is pretty early in the day. Every year, a female and a male from each district gets reaped to play in the Hunger Games, where we all fight to the death. Districts 1, 2 and 4 are Career districts, so winning is the greatest honour possible. Most other districts live in fear of being reaped, but we have so many p I've been training for the Games ever since I was 10, with the past victor, mentor and my idol, Enobaria. In her games, she ripped someone's throat open wit her teeth.

Since I was eligible at 12, I've been trying to volunteer for the Games, but someone else always beats me to it. Enobaria says I haven't been trying hard enough. I'm 17 this year, and it's my second last eligible year. I have to get in the Games this year. Next year is the Quarter Quell, and they might have a Quell that makes me ineligible for the Games, so I have to treat this year as my last. I have to get into the Games.

Mother lays out my Reaping dress, one that we went shopping for last week. A pale pink dress, that looks like the moon rising. It's what I want the whole of Panem to think of me, if- when I volunteer for the Games.

I put on my dress, a matching hair ribbon and shoes, grab a piece of butter bread and head off to the Square. It's a grand place, really, all our official events are held here. I get my attendance taken by a Peacekeeper, and I head off to stand in the area roped off for 17 year olds. Everyone either looks excited and ready to volunteer, or bored and wanting to go home and get on with life. Sadly, the Reaping is compulsory so they have to waste their time watching me represent their District.

The mayor reads the stupid and pointless history of Panem and the Treaty of Treason. Who cares? I just want to get this over with and win the Games. Then, our past victors are introduced. We've got lots, since we're a Career district and we usually win. The last to be introduced are the mentors for this year's tributes, Brutus and Enobaria.

Then, he introduces our escort, which is just some silly lady from the Capitol assigned to our District to help us in presentation and stuff. Like I need her help. Her name is Sparkle Star. What a name! She's got all sorts of disguisting plastic surgery. Ugh, when I live in the Capitol, I won't get all those.

"Ladies first!" Sparkle squeaks in her annoying high pitched voice. This is my time. I have to volunteer first. I have to. Concentrate, Clove…

Sparkle picks a name out of the Reaping ball. "Ab-"

"I volunteer! I volunteer!" I shout. I would have hollered as loudly as possible, but the whole of Panem is watching, and I don't want them to think I'm a monster.

"Come on up then, girl in pink!" That's me! I grin to myself. I've done it! I'm in the Games! "What's your name?"

"Clove Gare," I say as indifferently as possible.

"Well done Clove! Your female tribute for District 2, Clove Gare!" Sparkle says in that irritating voice of hers.

I can't believe it. I've done it! Mother and Father and Enobaria would be so proud. I am in dreamland for when the boy tribute is reaped, until the volunteer comes and stands next to me.

He is tall, strong and muscular. My heart beats fast as we are told to shake hands. His hands feel so manly! Who is this dude? His name, Cato I think. Cato… handsome name.

No, no I can't be falling in love with this guy! We'll be allies, but only one of us can win, and that's me! But I would die for him…

We are taken into the Justice Building, and I keep my gaze on this boy, until we are sent into our separate rooms to say our goodbyes to our families.

What was I thinking? I shake my head in those 5 minutes of alone time I'm given. He's not a friend, or a lover. He's my enemy! I'm going to have to get over him before we go into the Arena, or I'm screwed.

"Visitor for you!" A peacekeeper interrupts my thoughts.

"Clove, honey! I'm so proud of you!" Mother says, as she walks in with Father.

"Take care, okay?" Father looks worried. Just like him to spoil all the fun.

"I'll be alright, Father… I'll come back with lots of money, and I'll take us all to the Capitol!"

"Okay…" Father replies, still worried. My parents give me a final hug, and they leave the room. Nothing much to say goodbye for anyway, I'm coming back home.

I have no other visitors. That's expected I guess, since I don't go to school. The only people I see all day are my parents, and Enobaria at training. Occasionally some other wannabe tributes too, but I don't ever talk.

I sit in silence, until some Peacekeepers come to lead me to the tribute train. I smile, and wave at my admirers on the way, until I see Cato again and I lose my mind. Oh, that boy! I just want to kiss him, and never let go…


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Early chapter for you, because I'm really busy tomorrow! :( Thank you for the reviews, and please continue to support? :D**

When we enter the train, our mentors ask us to sit down. I'm still gazing dreamily at Cato.

"Well," Brutus starts, "good job volunteering, you two."

"Since I've always been training Clove and Brutus, Cato, we'll just stick with that." Enobaria continues, "Any problems?"

We keep silence, and they take that as consent.

"Okay then." Brutus speaks. "You get the rest of the day off. We'll start tactics training tomorrow, 7am sharp."

I groan. 7am? That's even earlier than the Reaping today!

"Oh, and Clove?" Enobaria stares at me accusingly. "I need to speak to you. My room. Now."

Cato and Brutus head off to their own rooms, and I shuffle behind Enobaria. Is this about my attitude or something? Damn.

"Girl! You're in love with that Cato boy, aren't you?"

I stutter, but no words come out.

"I can tell, and I'm never wrong. Snap out of it!"

"But.." I start, but Enobaria takes no excuses.

"He's you y, Clove. You're going have to act like allies at first, but when it comes down to the 2 of you, you have to get over it and kill him." She takes a brief look at me, and goes on. "He's strong. He's going to make it to the top 3, at least. If you're in love with that boy, you're even more likely to lose to him."

Silence.

"So are you going to get over him or not?"

"Yes, Enobaria." I say sulkingly.

"Good. If I catch you staring at him one more time, I'm not sending you any sponsor gifts."

No sponsor gifts? That's the greatest advantage of being a Career- everybody sponsors you! No, I have to get my gifts. "No, no, okay, I won't stare at him anymore." I hope.

"You better mean what you say. Now, go and rest. You need it."

I nod, and head off to my room.

My room, is unbelievably magnificent. It's even bigger than my room at home! That's a pretty huge statement to make, since I'm from one of the richest families in the richest district. If a tribute train room is this great, how amazing would houses in the Capitol be like? I can't wait to win these Games and live there!

I explore the drawers, which are filled with clothes made of the finest possible material. I'm going to change clothes as often as possible so I can wear all of them! My shower has so many buttons, I don't even know which I'm going to choose.

I decide to take a long shower. I think I spend a few hours in there, testing every single button. They range from rose scented water, to machine hands which scrub your body for you. I can't decide which function is my favourite, I love them all!

When I'm finally ready to exit the lovely shower, I step out of the showering area and almost die of shock when a towel is draped around me. Then, I realise that the shower is operated to do this. Ahh, the life of a Capitol citizen.

I dig in the drawers and pull out an emerald green set of silk pajamas. I pull them on. They are so soft! I climb into bed and drift off to sleep on the feather soft matress…

"Clove! Clove Gare!" The sound of an angry Enobaria rouses me. "What time is it now?"

"I don't know… Let me sleep!"

"It's 8, Clove! We were supposed to meet at 7, have you forgotten?"

"Yes..uh no."

"Ugh, lazy pig you are. We're pulling in the Capitol in about 10 minutes, go get dressed."

I groan, and go into the shower.

After 8 minutes, I'm dressed in this super pretty dress I found in one of the drawers.

I rush out to the window just as the train pulls into the Capitol. Ugh! Turns out Sparkle isn't the only one with so much disguisting surgery. Must be some fashion trend. Oh well, as a victor, everyone will listen to me, so I can just start my own trend. People are waving at me, so I wave back. I don't like them, but anything for sponsors, right?

We are then led to the remake centre, while blowing kisses to our adoring fans. I don't understand why they are adoring us. We haven't even done anything yet! Or maybe they just love my natural beauty. I do a dramatic hair flip, and receive lots of oohs and aahs.

While I am still waving at the crowd, my prep team comes and kidnaps me to the prep room. They squeak excitedly to each other. Apparently, last year they prepped District 11, and they are thrilled to move to a better district.

"Look at her skin! So well taken care of!" Some purple man squeaks. I can't be bothered to learn their names, or tell them apart. They are equally disguisting.

I am scrubbed, painted, rubbed and rolled over, until I am finally "pretty enough" to see Kylo. I know Kylo, he's been the District 2 stylist since like, forever. He never fails to make the tributes the most stunning, getting us lots of sponsors. I can't wait!

I'm led to Kylo's room, and asked to take off my bathrobe. I walk in naked. He observes me creepily for a while. "Sit, Clove."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Chapter 3! :D Sorry my story's so dramatic, I'm finding it a little difficult to be in Clove's shoes, but I'm trying my best! Any feedback is appreciated, thank you for reading! xx**

"Well, Clove, guess what you're going to be for the Parade!" Kylo says excitedly. He's not as squeaky as all the other Capitol people I've met. Well, it's good thing I guess. Now I know there are actually sane people here.

"Beautiful?" I pretend to misunderstand the question, because I really don't know.

He takes out a gold piece of thing. Then I realise that it's my costume. It's kind of like a Viking, I don't know, but it's beautiful. The shade of gold is so perfect, neither dull nor painful to the eyes. The trimmings are flawless too.

"Try it on!" And I do. It's so beautiful, much more than what I expected. I think I must be the most stunning one out of all the tributes! Everyone will want to sponsor me now!

"Thank you." I say gratefully. Kylo nods, and sends me downstairs to get ready for the Parade.

I glance at the other tributes. None of them are a match for me! District 1 are in some disguistingly fake shiny things. My costume is shiny, but at least it's not fake! None of the other districts catch my eye, except this little girl from 11. She's in some kiddy dress with wings. She looks slightly pretty, but mostly just annoyingly cute. Oh well, I look better. The ones from 12 are just in weird black suits and headpieces. They don't even look the least bit nice. I'm definitely getting all the sponsors!

Cato gets out of the lift. Oh gosh, he's so hot. His outfit is the same as mine, and it matches his sparkling blue eyes. Oh gosh.

Enobaria comes over and glares at me. Oh no. I quickly shift my eyes to the other district tributes, pretending to observe them. She walks away, with hot air around her. Have I just lost all my gifts? Damn. I decide to make the best of this wonderful Parade, and not worry about that for now. I need sponsors first. No sponsors, no gifts in the first place.

District 1 gets on their Chariot, and Cato and I follow. As President Snow declares the start of the Parade, the District 1 chariot enters the City Circle. The crowd gives a cheer that's too loud for my liking. Ugh. But my cheer will be louder.

As our Chariot rolls out, we get a deafening roar from the crowd. I give a sly smile, and enjoy my moment. The District 1 girl looks slightly flustered, and tries to do some weird poses to get back the crowd's attention, but I've got it all. I wave, and blow kisses at the crowd. Some even throw me roses! As the other Chariot comes out, they get quite ignorable cheers. Most of them are still focused on me, me and me. And maybe Cato…

Suddenly, the Capitol citizens go crazy. Which District is this, their cheers are even louder than mine! I look at the live screen above me, and see District 12 on fire. Well, not their District, their tributes. And I think it's fake fire. I hate to admit it, but they look absolutely gorgeous. They are stealing all my sponsors! The girl looks conceited, catching roses and blowing kisses in the direction of which the rose came from. And what, she's holding hands with the boy? Nobody does that! For goodness's sake, they are going into an Arena to kill each other!

The boy isn't absorbing the crowd's love, but instead staring dreamily at the girl. Oh, he's in love, I'm sure. What drama this will be for the audience! I kind of hate them for it, since people will see them as unlucky and sponsor them.

I stare at Cato's hand, which looks so warm and manly. I really want to hold it, but Enobaria will kill me. I stare ahead, fearless and beautiful, trying to resist the urge to grab him. Throughout the Panem anthem, I keep a straight face with a slight smile.

As our Chariots go back into the Training Centre one by one, 12 gets the most attention again. Ugh. As soon as I'm out of sight from the Capitol and the cameras (which is soon because I'm second), I let out a scowl. Those idiots! I don't even know their names and they've literally outshone me already! As soon as they enter the building, lots of stylists, including Kylo crowd around them in awe. I shoot them a dirty look, which the girl catches. A lot of the other tributes are doing the same. Huh, she deserves it.

Cato and I ride the elevator up to our rooms. We're District 2, so it's only on the second floor. There's a common area, a dining table, and of course, individual rooms for the tributes and mentors. I run into my room. It's even grander than the tribute train! The shower features have multiplied by ten, my bed is bigger and softer, and there are more choices for clothes. I take off my costume, and take a quick shower. I can explore the new features later, I need to explore my room first!

It's almost 8, so I just wear pyjamas. They're soft and silky, perfect for sleeping in. I jump onto my bed, and reach for a remote on my bedside table. I'm slightly confused. Where's the television? I press a big red button that looks like "ON", and my window goes from transparent to black. I press all the numbers, and watch in awe as it changes scenes. What is this technology, so perfect!

Sparkle calls me out for dinner and an important discussion with Enobaria and Brutus. Oh, this can't be good.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Thank you so much for continuing to read my story even though it isn't that good! :') Follow me on twitter FANNIEtabulous? :3**

"The good news is that," Brutus says while eating his lamb stew, "You were stunning. The bad new is that you weren't the most stunning."

"Which is a problem," Enobaria adds. You don't say? "That girl, Katniss was pretty popular at her Reaping. She volunteered for her sister."

A volunteer from 12? Must be a first. Maybe it was an act. The audience thinks she loves her sister to bits, so they'll sponsor her.

"She's even more popular now," Brutus continues. "If you two want sponsors, you have to be the most outstanding at the interviews. You're going to win her at training, that's for sure, but interviews are crucial."

"Training is first though," Enobaria again, "So you concentrate on that first. Ally with 1, 2 and 4. Don't hide your skills, intimidate the weaker tributes." Blah, blah, blah. A whole lot of stuff we already know.

As we get served dessert, Brutus tells us to go and rest. It's a big day tomorrow, and we'll really need the rest. Going to meet our allies tomorrow, I hope they're not too bad. None of them have made any impression on me, except that revolting girl from 1. Ugh.

I actually wanted to try out all the shower features, but I decide that I'm too tired. I've got a few more days anyway. I can cover them by the time I get into the Arena.

That night, I dream of living in the Capitol and Cato. But I know it's not possible. It's either or. Wait, it's not even either or! There's only two scenarios, I lose Cato and live in the Capitol, or I lose both. I guess the former's better, so I should get over Cato. Hopefully it doesn't show at training today, I don't want the other tributes to use it to their advantage.

Training starts at 10, but Careers who want to be in the team are usually down by 8.30. The rest stroll in at about an hour later. At 8.25, I'm dressed in a tight black suit, which is apparently the same for all the tributes, except the district number on our sleeves of course. Cato has already gone down, which is fine I guess, being in the elevator alone with him may spark some unwanted feelings. I head down, and find myself the last Career there.

Cato decides he's the leader and starts coordinating us. He's so manly when he bosses people around. "So, no rebels here?" There are a few years when some tributes from our Career districts decide that don't want to be in the Career pack, like 4 years ago, Finnick or something. He won though, which was a surprise.

"Okay, self-introductions. I'm Cato, 2." We go in a circle. The ones from 1 are Glimmer and Marvel. From 4, Naomi and Bobby. Disgusting names, if you ask me.

We decide to be traditional, and show off our skills as usual. Intimidate the weak ones, and the stronger ones too. We'll move around as a pack, but in case anything, we'll have pairs or trios to stick with. For today, I'm with Glimmer and Naomi. Guess we might do some of the girlier things then. After lunch, we'll discuss each others' strengths and then decide what next.

The other tributes start strolling in. By 9.50, everyone except District 12 is here. Those 2, who outshone us all yesterday, do they think they are superior now? They might have won the hearts of the Capitol citizens, but after the training scores come out, they'll lose it all.

When they finally arrive, some Gamemaker briefs us. I don't really listen, I'm just staring at the knives and itching to try them out. Maybe I'll try them out on the girl from 12…

When we are free to go to all the stations, we head for the knives and spears first. We all take turns to try out the lovely weapons. I throw knives everywhere, in between tributes, scaring them, onto the ceiling, bursting lights. The weak tributes stare at me in awe.

We move from station to station, some of them I'm excellent at, some of them I'm okay. But I'm not particularly bad at anything. As I get to know Glimmer and Naomi better, they turn out to be not that bad after all. They are just girls with dreams too. Too bad though, our friendship won't last because I'm going to win these Games.

Glimmer thinks she's really good at archery, but she should see herself shoot. Her survival skills are great though, she knows what we can eat, and what we can't, and how to start a small fire, and how to see if meat is cooked.

Naomi suggested we go to the edible plants station to learn too. Glimmer and I both say no, since you know, we're Careers, we get all the food supplies.

At lunch, the 6 of us gather and eat together. Looks like we're the only ones with a team yet, since most of the other tributes are eating alone. Except the tributes from 12. What is wrong with them? They're not supposed to be a team! They are too weak, anyway.

After lunch, we'll stop showing off so much and observe the other tributes, while showing off still of course. Marvel's observing 3, Cato 5 and 6, Bobby 7, Glimmer 8 and 9, Naomi 10, and me, 11 and 12. This should be exciting.


End file.
